S3 Ep 3 Blueberries and Raspberries

Right Plant, Right Place – Root Crops & Berries

In this episode, It's the October full-moon gardening phase — a perfect time to cultivate soil and sow root crops across all four NZ planting zones. You’ll learn what to plant now, how to get the best results in your region, and why this phase of the moon is ideal for “spoiling your soil.”

Our Fruit of the Week takes a closer look at blueberries and raspberries — where they came from, how they’ve adapted, and why their specific soil and climate needs truly reinforce our mantra: right plant, right place.
Discover the fascinating history of these berries, from Roman gardens and North American forests to New Zealand’s modern orchards — now spanning around 800 hectares and up to two million blueberry plants nationwide!                                                                                                                                

This week’s Tea of the Week is Dandelion Tea — the humble lawn weed that doubles as a spring cleanser — and we review two brilliant books:
📘 The Well Gardened Mind by Sue Stuart-Smith – rediscovering nature in the modern world.
📗 The 1000 Most-Asked Gardening Questions by Daphne Ledward – packed with seasonal soil and planting wisdom.00:08 - Introduction 
00:34 - Tea of the week: Dandelion 
05:43 – Recapping last week – cover Brassicas
06:54 – If you haven’t got a garden 
09:07 – Tasks of the week 
09:43 -  Preparing Root Crop beds
12:45 – What Root crops can you sew in your zone?
16:53 – The Secret to a really good compost?
22:09 – Where to build your compost
23:56 – Hot vs Cold Compost
25:23 – Seasonal reminders
26:55 – Lawn Care
28:37 – Inviting in Beneficial pests
29:39 – Fruit of the week - Blueberries
37:13 – Second Fruit of the week – Raspberries

44:57 – Book of the week, the Well Gardened Mind

50:26 The 1000 most asked gardening questions

51:51 Episode Round Up

Support the show

You can contact us at coach@yourgardencoach.nz

Seasonal listening tip: No matter where you are in the world, you can dip back into earlier episodes to match the season you’re in right now. Just look at the titles (e.g. Spring Ep3) and choose the ones that line up with your own garden season — that way, the advice will always be spot-on and timely for you.